In another galaxy
by fsdg2011
Summary: Post episode "The Return part 2". Atlantis was saved, but Sheppard got reassigned. AU. Spoilers for "The Return part 1", "The Return part 2".
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

08:00 a.m. Earth, Cheyenne Mountain

General Landry was sitting in his office and drinking what must have been eleventh cup in the last 24 hours. He sighed and once again looked at the file lying on his table.

'Name: Sheppard John,' said the file,  
'Rank: Lieutenant Colonel USAF  
Date of Birth: 06/14/ 1970  
Current station: '

Landry stopped reading and closed the file. He knew the content of that particular manila folder almost by heart and reading it one more time won't give him an answer to the question of how one man could get himself into so much trouble.

Just four hours ago the gate activated and General O'Neill's tired but jubilant voice announced that Replicators were defeated and Atlantis was once again under control. Colonel Caldwell confirmed that. General Landry ordered him to stay in the city whereas General O'Neill, Mr. Woolsey and other wayward personalities with the exception of Teyla and Ronon were instructed to return to Earth for the debriefing.

The debriefing took about an hour during which Landry was sitting and listening another astonishing story about how Sheppard and his team managed to emerge as winners in this unsanctioned rescue mission.

After the debriefing he had sent them all, except for Sheppard, to their quarters to rest. Colonel Sheppard has been instructed to be in Landry's office in two hours.

And right now General Landry was waiting to give Lieutenant Colonel not so great news. John Sheppard was an outstanding pilot, commanding officer and team leader. He was a courageous, honest man with high moral code and one of his rules was to never leave a man behind. This was what he did several hours ago despite the direct order to return to SGC. Of course Landry was not pleased with Sheppard's actions however he would never admit that deep down he was glad that Sheppard mounted a rescue mission. If he had not, Atlantis would have been lost forever and they would have to hold another funeral with two empty caskets.

Landry could understand if not accept his actions of disregarding the orders, but not the IOA. And that was a big problem. The IOA wanted Sheppard out of command, out of Pegasus galaxy and ultimately out of their hair. Well, General Landry wasn't going to let this happen. And in retrospect, he thought he had done the best he could considering the circumstances.

A knock on the door diverted General's attention from his thoughts back to reality.

"Come in," said Landry as he took a file of paper out of his table.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" a very disheveled Lt. Col. John Sheppard appeared before the General.

"Yes, Colonel. Here," Landry gave Sheppard the file. General decided to cut to the chase, there was no point in sweetening the pill. "Your new orders. You've been reassigned."

Sheppard was stunned. He hesitantly took the file, opened it, read a few times and closed it with force. His faced was pale, his eyes wide open.

He knew that for disobeying the orders there will be a punishment, either it would be demotion or he would be no longer in charge as a military commander of Atlantis, but being reassigned to another location, not to mention galaxy albeit his home world, never crossed his mind. This was even worse. Atlantis was his home. His team was his family. He could not imagine leaving his people.

Sheppard opened his mouth to say something, but was forestalled by General Landry.

"This is a temporary reassignment. Just for six months."

'Just?!' thought Sheppard. Six months — half of a year, this is enough time for many nasty things to happen. New military commander (most likely Colonel Caldwell) would certainly change operation's protocols. McKay would unintentionally try to destroy Atlantis a few times. There is also a chance of next 'unexpected' storm and a threat from other elements. And let's not forget our lovely enemies — the Wraith, the Genii, the Replicators and other wonders of the Pegasus Galaxy. So, in the end, although Atlantis located on the planet, which is mostly an ocean, the odds of Atlantis sinking — for real this time — are practically nonexistent.

"It could've been worse," after a few minutes added General.

"Worse?" said Sheppard with incredulous look.

"Yes Colonel, you could have been dishonourably discharged or even court-martialed," said Landry.

'Yeah, these possibilities were much worse — he would have never been allowed to stay in Atlantis in any capacity,' thought Sheppard.

General stood up and began pacing. "During your unauthorized operation you've stolen a cache of ARGs, circumvented Stargate Command's security, attacked Sergeant Wallace and a member of a science team, hijacked a Puddle Jumper and escaped through the Gate Bridge! And I'm not going to mention what you've done in the Pegasus Galaxy!"

At the end of the tirade General was almost shouting and his voice probably could be heard one level above and below General's office.

'This didn't look so … extensive in practice' Sheppard lowered his gaze in shame. And he knew he really should be quiet right now and keep his mouth shut but he just could not help himself, "Technically I didn't circumvent Stargate Command's security. It was McKay. Sir."

Sheppard was literally saved by the bell from receiving a further reprimand. General picked up the phone, spoke briefly and put it down, "The helicopter is waiting for you in thirty minutes."

John felt frustrated and lost. The worst part of all of this was that there was nothing he could do. "Yes, Sir," he said with the voice devoid of any emotion.

"Colonel, I need to warn you, that next time you disobey the orders will be your last." General looked Sheppard up and down. " The IOA, despite the fact that you saved the city along with General O'Neill and Mr. Woolsey, wanted to dismiss you from the service. But I managed, with Mr. Woolsey the help, to convince them to give you another chance. The IOA agreed for this house arrest or should I say "planet arrest" by way of punishment. Don't mess this up."

"I won't," said Sheppard, and he meant it. He would do whatever it takes to return to Atlantis, to his family. "I have one question though. Can I leave a message for my team?" asked Sheppard.

"Yes, you can. You even allowed to communicate with your friends, just send your messages to SGC and we will transmit them during the weekly status report. Just don't forget not to put in the messages anything which would require security clearance – in case the transmission would be intercepted.  
You're dismissed Colonel."

"Yes, sir," Sheppard turned around and left General's office.

Landry sighed, sat down and looked at his watch: in six hours, an intriguing meeting waits ahead of him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _Thank you so much to all who have been reading and reviewing. This is the first story I have ever written, and I knew what I was doing only in the first chapter. Also, sorry for any mistakes (lexical, grammatical, etc.), English is not my native language._

Chapter 2

02:00 p.m. Earth, Cheyenne Mountain

Rodney was passing through corridors of SGC on his way to the briefing room. He had a laptop under his arm, a coffee cup in one hand and half eaten sandwich in the other. He did not have much sleep (and who would, considering the circumstances). After four hours of futile attempts to fall asleep, he gave up and started to make a list of the primary things to do when they came back to Atlantis. He was expecting that Sheppard would come by to his quarters to remind him about the meeting and they would go to the mess hall together. So Rodney was surprised when Elizabeth showed up and said that the meeting would start in half an hour. And now Rodney was trying not to spill his coffee, choke on his food or drop the laptop.

He managed to finish the sandwich just in time as he reached the briefing room. When he walked in, he saw that the room was filled with people: General Landry was sitting at the head of the table, to his right were Mr. Woolsey, Colonel Caldwell (hey, when did he come back?) and Major Lorne; to his left — Radek, Elizabeth and Carson. However Sheppard was nowhere to be seen.

"Finally! Nice of you to join us, Dr. McKay," greeted him General Landry. "Take a sit and we can start this meeting."

"What about Colonel Sheppard? Shouldn't we wait for him?" asked Rodney looking at the General. Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Caldwell exchanged meaningful looks with Landry. "And when did you come back and who's looking after the city? Who knows what the Replicators, or the Ancients for that matter, had done to it?" inquired Rodney looking at Caldwell.

Before Colonel Caldwell could answer, General Landry interjected, "As I told your colleagues ten minutes ago, General O'Neill is keeping an eye on the city. Colonel Caldwell returned two hours ago and his presence at this meeting is necessary."

After a brief pause he continued, "About Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard — he's been reassigned and…" Landry did not have a chance to finish his sentence: the room exploded with questions and objections like: 'Who authorized that? Where was he reassigned, sir? Are you morons? Is he going to come back?'. Only Colonel Caldwell and Mr. Woolsey remained silent.

"People…people," tried Landry to calm down the scientists. "People!" — room fell silent. "Colonel Sheppard conducted an unauthorized rescue mission. He had not only disobeyed a direct order, but endangered lives of three civilians, stole weapons and a puddle jumper. He has done enough to be court-martialed. But with the help of Mr. Woolsey I convinced the IOA to change their mind … This is a temporary situation."

Every member of Atlantis expedition looked devastated and confused. They never thought this could happen. John Sheppard was famous for his ability to elude any trouble. But how would he charm his way out of such mess this time?

"John Sheppard saved Atlantis only several hours ago. He's been doing these courageous acts since our expedition stepped through the gate. And you want to make a scapegoat out of him?" Elizabeth glared at Landry then at Woolsey accusingly.

"Dr. Weir, we know what Colonel Sheppard has done and we are in no way diminishing his contribution to the expedition. I personally glad that you all came back for us, but the IOA has made their decision," responded Woolsey.

"Can we at least say goodbye to the lad?" asked Beckett.

"I'm afraid it's not possible, he left shortly after the debriefing," answered General Landry.

"Oh, that's just perfect," Rodney looked angry. "How long this…exile gonna last?"

"Six months. Colonel Sheppard recorded a message for you," he gave a thumb drive to Lorne. "Play it, Major. Colonel Caldwell, Mr. Woolsey, can we speak outside?"

-sga-

As soon as General Landry, Colonel Caldwell and Mr. Woolsey walked out of the briefing room, Rodney abruptly stood up, started pacing the room as he began his rant.

"This is ridiculous! How could they done this? I mean… what were they thinking? Or better question with what — definitely not with their brains, because how could they remove one person who is actually capable of defending Atlantis with the most bizarre and arduous plans which by the way I always have to implement! Not to mention, that if something happens and we'll have to…, I don't — use drones or one of sophisticated Atlantis's operations — only he has the ATA gene powerful enough to pull it off," Rodney stopped pacing, looked at Carson, "And Carson can do it too, but he'll need more time to concentrate and he's afraid of ancient devices and…"

"Rodney, we understand," Carson gave Rodney a weak smile, "He is your friend. You concerned about him."

"One of my best friends, actually," replied Rodney.

Silence filled the room for several minutes. Nobody could have predicted such a turn. Then Rodney spoke again, "What are we gonna do? We can't just leave it like that."

"I don't think there is anything we can do. Maybe we should just … wait for Colonel Sheppard to return?" suggested Radek.

"And it's not like the Colonel can disobey this order too," added Major Lorne.

"Why not?"

"If he disobeys this order, we definitely will never see him again in the walls of Atlantis, Rodney," replied Elizabeth, "Let's watch the video." She nodded at Lorne to play the recording.

Rodney finally sat down willing to watch what could be the last frames of his best friend.

Notwithstanding the lack of the Wraith, Earth was still a dangerous place. Especially if they will send Sheppard to some hot zone or on another secret government mission. It just occurred to Rodney, that he may never see John Sheppard ever again, dead or alive. He knew that Sheppard was willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good of his friends and men serving under him. And it was Rodney's job as a friend to look out for Sheppard. Rodney should have thought through the consequences of their escapade first, before embarking on one.

-sga-

As a monitor came to life, all those present in the briefing room could see the standard quarters of SGC. From the camera angle there could be noticed an unmade bed and an open duffel bag half filled with T-shirts, cargo pants and sport magazines.

For several minutes camera showed an empty room, then there appeared a familiar figure. Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard sat down on the bed and smiled to the camera, "Hey guys, I guess you're already know that I won't be coming back with you. I have some other … affairs to tend to." He looked down as his smile faded, then after a few seconds looked up to the camera again. "I knew what I was doing when I disobeyed that order, Rodney, so don't you dare blame yourself for this. And if I have to, I would do this again." Sheppard run a hand through his hair making them stick out even more. "Anyway, uh, sorry for not saying goodbye in person — I have thirty minutes to pack things up and …" he sighed, "It's easier this way. … I'm allowed to communicate with you, so I'll try to send e-mails when it's your weekly status report. I'll appreciate if you explain all of this to Teyla and Ronon … Well, I guess I'll see you in six months. Take care of each other, guys. And McKay, I'd better return to Atlantis standing or floating safe and sound." Sheppard stood up, went behind the camera and turned it off.

-sga-

Just as the video ended, General Landry and Colonel Caldwell walked in the briefing room and took their sits.

"Since we established the current Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard's service status," began the General, "now we may return to the more pressing matter. First of all, the new military commander of Atlantis will be Colonel Caldwell."

The members of Atlantis expedition looked a little disapprovingly at Caldwell. They always knew he was after this position and now, when this opportunity has 'voluntarily' presented itself, there is no chance he will pass it. And this meant that Sheppard's team would have to ensure that this situation indeed would be temporary. Rodney thought to himself, that he will personally make sure to make Caldwell's life living hell if the Colonel is reluctant to return the military commander position to its rightful owner.

"Doesn't Colonel Caldwell have a ship to command?" asked Elizabeth narrowing her lids towards Caldwell.

"Yes, I do. And the Daedalus will be stationed in Atlantis. There is no harm in having a interstellar warship to defend the city," Caldwell smiled at Elizabeth.

"And when the Daedalus is travelling to Atlantis and back to Earth, Major Lorne as the second-in-command will be in charge of Atlantis," continued Landry. "Let's discuss current situation of your expedition: departure schedule, the personnel that we gonna recruit, equipment requests and other things."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Earth

One month and two weeks later

John was limping through neat standing rows of barracks. The sun was high in the sky; it was approximately 99 °F. Sweat was trickling down his back, his boots were half full of sand, and he was thirsty and hungry and he desperately needed shower.

Finally he walked into barrack assigned to him. It was not much cooler in here, but it was better than roasting himself in the open. Sheppard looked at his watch — he had two hours before SGC's scheduled weekly wormhole activation from Atlantis. He needed to write something to his team, let them know that he was still alive. Except one e-mail after his departure to this ocean of sand, he had not sent any.

John sat down on his cot, unlaced and took off his boots. When he turned them over, two small mounds of sand formed on the floor. Then he tossed his boots aside and reclined on the cot.

Sheppard took his laptop, opened an application and paused.

What should he write? That everything's okay? Well, it wasn't okay but it was bearable. He thought that every day would drag on tediously. In reality it turned out to be not so boring. Burst of activity of the enemies in the area was keeping him focused entirely on task at hand.

Suddenly, he found himself recollecting what happened after he had arrived here.

-sga-

The first week was the hardest one. New people, new CO, new weather conditions — all at ones. But he could withstand this. He missed his team deeply, even McKay with his whining, too much talking and arrogance. He missed Atlantis itself — the constant humming of the city, Lantean architecture, sound of ocean, the 'thinking' part.

Then there was training: shooting range, obstacle race and what not. Even though he is a Lieutenant Colonel, he had not had humans as enemies for a long time (the Genii do not count). And in combat situations in the Pegasus galaxy he almost always had assistance of the interstellar space ship or of a Puddle Jumper and a stargate to 'tactically retreat to'.

Next couple of weeks went pretty quickly: he would be lying if he sad that he did not miss flying a simple metal helicopter. Nothing could replace the feeling of a cyclic stick in your hand, the wind in your face, the turbulence, the adrenalin rush … That day, sitting at the controls, John was so engrossed in piloting the Apache helicopter, he almost forgot that his family was light years away in another galaxy fighting space vampires and that there were months ahead of this separation.

Later that evening, while everyone was gathering for dinner, a group of Taliban insurgents armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the camp. The soldiers managed to quell the major part of the insurgents but some of them were able to break through the barbed-wire fence inside the camp…

/

…The gunshot fire had finally ceased. Bodies of insurgents were lying sprawled on the ground, not moving. Group of soldiers was sent to inspect the area around the gate, where the explosion has happened.

Sheppard was crouching behind sand-bag barricade. All of a sudden, he heard two gun shots somewhere to the left of the entrance gate. It probably was coming from the hangar. He looked around and spotted the Sergeant, "Larson, let's check out the hangar."

As John led the way, Sgt Larson was following close behind him. They swiftly moved along the side walls of the barracks, making sure there were no gunmen in the passageways.

Sheppard came to a halt at the corner of last barrack and made a hand signal to stop. He looked out from the corner of the barrack — the hangar doors were open. It was pitch dark inside and light of projectors from watch-towers was averted to opposite direction.

"Do you see anyone inside, Sir?" asked Sgt.

"No, it's too dark." John kept looking inside narrowing his eyes. After another minute his eyes adjusted enough for him to see two insurgents.

"I see them. One's crunched near front tire … driver's side of the first Humvee in second row… Another is behind the left door".

Then John gave a hand signal to proceed. Silently moving towards the hangar, they stopped about twenty meters in front of the entrance.

"Lay down you weapons and put your hands up!" Sheppard shouted to the armed man. Nothing happened.

"Lay down you weapons!" repeated Sheppard aiming his rifle to the gunman standing at the hangar door. Larson was pointing his weapon on now standing insurgent near the Humvee.

The assailants did not move; they just kept standing and staring at John.

'Damn,' he thought, 'why it is always starts with a staring game? It never ends well.'

"Lay down you weapons and put your hands up!" shouted now Larson.

But the gunmen had another plans.

They started raising their weapons. Sheppard did not give them the chance to shoot — he and Sgt fired first. After the Taliban soldiers were down, Sheppard moved towards the bodies, while Larson stayed behind still aiming his weapon at hangar entrance.

John had almost reached the first body, when he heard the shot and immediately felt stinging in his right calf. The impact of the bullet made him lose the equilibrium. He fell down on the ground dropping his weapon which skidded away.

Sheppard tried to crawl and grab his rifle but the insurgent, who had been hiding all that time in the back of the hangar, was already near the entrance getting ready to shoot Sheppard. Meanwhile, Larson was trying to shoot another gunman who came from behind the corner of the hangar.

Suddenly there were more voices around them and the Taliban soldier in front of him dropped down with a bullet hole in his head.

John regained a sitting position on the ground clutching his calf. He looked up and saw Colonel Wyles approaching him. There were more US soldiers around them securing the assailants.

"I saw you and Sgt wandering off while we were cleaning up that mess at the gate. Thought you might need some help." Colonel Wyles smirked and stretched out a hand, "Can you stand up?"

"Yeah, thanks," John took his hand and with Colonel's help stood up.

"Come on, let's take you to infirmary," Wyles put one of John's arms across his shoulders and they began slowly walking, or limping in Sheppard's case, towards infirmary.

/

"So, what were they doing to the Humvees?" Sheppard was sitting on the infirmary bed while the medic was wrapping the bandage around his calf.

"Apparently they were slashing tires," replied Colonel Wyles. Sheppard gave him a skeptical look.

"I know, I know," continued Wyles, "we've searched the Humvees but there are no explosives, no missing parts, no extra part, nothing."

"We're missing something," said Sheppard rolling down his pant leg and putting on his boot.

The Taliban are known for committing massacres, bombings and other attacks against innocent people. Dozens slashed tires in comparison with that are just a prank.

"Yes, we are," agreed Wyles.

/

Two hours later they found out what they were missing or whom to be exact. Two US soldiers were supposed to be patrolling the north-east area of the camp, where the hangar with Humvees is situated. Sgt. Rally was found dead, his body was lying outside the camp's perimeter. He had been killed by two gunshots to the chest, which most likely were the shots that Sheppard heard that night. Another soldier — Private Lockhart was nowhere to be found. The whole base searched for him but with no result.

The first assault Taliban team which attacked the gate was a diversion as was the second in the hangar. There was a third team whose target was Private Rally — a son of the Senator Lockhart. This attack was aimed at capturing the son a big fish all along.

/

On the meeting the next day commander of the base — Group Captain Adrian Brenton — informed them about Taliban's demand.

"They want a release of Ala a Din Keshwar within 48 hours or the hostage would be executed." Then Brenton looked at Sheppard intently and added, "I don't need to remind you that we do not negotiate with terrorists."

Sheppard looked away, unable to held Captain's gaze. Yeah, he knew that they did not negotiate with terrorists. He also knew that that kid — Private Lockhart — was as good as dead. This situation went against his rule 'we don't leave people behind'. But as much as he wanted to do something, he couldn't.

-sga-

After John had written the e-mail, he pressed 'Send' and closed his laptop.

'Four months, three weeks,' he reminded himself.

'I'm not asking you to stay out of trouble — 'cause everybody knows that's impossible, you are walking 'trouble magnet'. Just don't do anything stupid. Atlantis needs you. We need you,' lines from Rodney's e-mail emerged in his mind.

'Don't do anything stupid'…How hard could that be?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Atlantis

Two weeks later

"We agreed to provide the villagers with medical supplies and…" Lorne paused and looked at Dr. Weir and Colonel Caldwell. The two, along with Dr. Beckett, were sitting opposite him, Ronon, Teyla and Dr. McKay. Although the commanders of Atlantis requested the debriefing, they were not paying much attention to what he was saying. They were just starring at Rodney.

"…and they've asked for the healer," Lorne continued his report,"so they will expect us back with…"

"Would you quit staring at me?!" Rodney cut him off and scowled at Caldwell and Elizabeth. He was annoyed with the looks everyone gave him. "You're not in the zoo."

At least Elizabeth had the decency to look embarrassed. Caldwell just kept starring with amused expression on his face.

Lorne and Carson was trying to stifle a laugh and not doing a good job at it. Teyla exchanged a knowing look with Ronon.

"Rodney…when you returned, you never really explained what has happened," said Elizabeth tentatively, "maybe now is a good time to…"

"Okay! It was rain!" harshly interrupted Rodney. He sighed and then continued, "It's all started when we walked through the stargate …

-sga-

… After the AR-1team which now consisted of Major Lorne, Dr. McKay, Teyla and Ronon stepped through the stargate on planet M8G-B57, they gaped at the picturesque scenery around them.

They have sent M.A.L.P. beforehand and it showed dense vegetation, which made surface of the planet inaccessible for a jumper. However, the M.A.L.P.'s camera did not transmit this.

"Wow!" Rodney looked around — everything was green: grass, trees, plants, ground, stones, even the sky was of a greenish hue. The variety of green hue was astonishing, it consisted of dark green, teal blue (dark greenish-blue), lime, light sea green, dark olive, turquoise and other shades of green which defied any description.

Rodney was so engrossed in surveying the landscape that he flinched when Lorne touched his shoulder. "What?" asked Rodney.

"I asked, is it," Lorne waved his hand indicating the airspace around them, "Safe to be here?"

"Uh," Rodney looked at the scanner, "There are no indications of radiation, no measurable toxins. It's safe…I think."

"Perhaps we should continue?" Teyla indicated to a narrow path which originated at the edge of the forest.

Before Lorne could answer Ronon has already made his way down the path.

Despite that Major Lorne has been leading the AR-1 team for several months now, they still have not quite adjusted to this situation.

The most troublesome was Ronon. Throughout his time in Atlantis he and Col. Sheppard became almost like brothers. Ronon obeyed Sheppard's orders not because of the chain of command but out of respect and loyalty. However such connection has not formed between Lorne and Ronon yet. So there had already been numerous times when Ronon completely ignored Major Lorne's orders and had done things in a way he thought Sheppard would have done them.

McKay….Well, Rodney was Rodney. He still talked a lot, still whined a lot, his behavior have not change much when they were off-world. But what had changed for him, was that the missions stopped being fun. With Sheppard as the leader of their team, every mission, even a disastrous one, had its amusing moments and banter. These days they were still dangerous and intriguing but it was just not the same.

Teyla always was the most responsible, sensible and the voice of reason among all her team-mates. Although she was frustrated as all of them, she tried to stay focused on the mission and to keep her team-mates from killing each other.

/

"Maybe it's because of some kind of mineral or the plants or maybe there is something in the atmosphere! I wonder what color is water on this planet? We should send here biologist and geologists…" relentlessly babbled Rodney.

The team was walking down the path which led them through dense forest. The leaves and trunks of the trees were of so intense lime-green color that the sunlight filtered through the leaves created a greenish haze. The scene was pretty impressive if somewhat disturbing.

Suddenly Ronon stopped; Lorne and Teyla have done the same. Rodney has not been paying any attention to his surroundings and bumped into Lorne's back, "Hey! Watch it!" hissed Rodney. Teyla gripped Rodney's hand and made a motion to be silent.

"Ronon, what's wrong?" asked Major Lorne.

"Heard something," replied Ronon taking his gun out of the holster.

"I haven't heard anything," interjected Rodney looking around cautiously.

Then there was a sound of cracking branch. Ronon, Lorne and Teyla aimed their weapons at the group of trees to the left of them.

A man dressed in black cotton pants and brown tunic, stained with small light green spots came from behind the trees. He had short dark hair, was about two meter high and of strong constitution. But the most noticeable part of his body was his eyes. The pupils were in their usual color — black, however, the irises were bright blue and the scleras were, as almost everything on this planet, green.

"I am Kepheus," the man introduced himself, "I wish you no harm." Kepheus was still standing several meters away from the team, not risking coming any closer.

The man seemed harmless, so Lorne decided to try a 'make friends' approach. He though that it was what Sheppard would do.

"I'm Major Lorne; this is Teyla Emmagan, Doctor Rodney McKay and specialist Ronon Dex. We are peaceful travelers and traders," said Lorne as he and Teyla lowered their weapons. He looked pointedly at Ronon who was still pointing his gun at Kepheus. Ronon gave Lorne a look and then reluctantly lowered his gun. Rodney was just standing there and starring at Kepheus's eyes.

"Please, follow me, our village is not far from here," Kepheus began walking down the path.

/

The team led by Kepheus was striding for about ten minutes when Rodney finally found his voice, "Um, … Kepheus, no one of my team-mates here thought about asking you … why everything on this planet is in different shades of green?"

"Doctor McKay, I will answer your question as soon as we reach the village. We should not be outside when he comes," replied Kepheus and speeded up his stride.

Lorne exchanged glances with Ronon and Teyla. The peculiar terrain of this planet was not enough; there always have to be some sinister enemy. This mission was not the first one where they encountered with adversaries. And the Major began to think that the true trouble magnet of the AR-1 team was Dr. McKay and not Lt. Col. Sheppard.

"Who comes?" asked Rodney looking apprehensive.

"The Rain," pointed to the sky Kepheus.

The team exchanged confused looks — 'The rain?'

/

It had started raining in ten minutes. Everyone managed to make it to the shelter in time. Well, almost everyone.

Rodney's physical training was not his strong suit. It was Sheppard's job to fight with bad guys, and when they had to run from somebody or something, Sheppard always made sure that Rodney was in his line of sight.

Lorne did not have such habit. He noticed that McKay has left behind only when they reached Kepheus's dwelling.

While running, Rodney twisted his ankle, slipped and fell. By the time he got up and limped to the hut, the rain was pouring in full force. And what a surprise, the rain was in green color!

When Rodney finally stepped over the threshold he was greeted with bursts of laughter from his team-mates.

-sga-

"Kepheus said it will come down in a few weeks," Rodney rubbed his hand without effect. "And he said it's not dangerous," saying that Rodney looked at Carson inquiringly.

"Aye, the tests showed no known toxins, no allergens," answered Beckett looking Rodney up and down.

When the team had returned, he was the first one who saw the real extent of damage while doing post-mission exam. Rodney's face and arm were covered in green paint. The rest of his body which was protected by clothes during the rain reminded now of a leopard pattern but instead of black spots Rodney had green spots on pale skin. In addition he had a black eye — also a result of his fall. But in the grand scheme of things that was nothing.

"Well, all things considered, I'm sure everyone will agree that it would be reasonable to suspend the team's off world activities until Doctor McKay … will restore his natural color," announced Caldwell giving Elizabeth questioning look. Elizabeth nodded in approval.

Everyone began standing up from their seats and leaving the conference room.

"Too bad Sheppard's not here, he would've enjoyed the view," said Ronon as he was walking alongside Lorne.

"I've got it covered," the Major smiled mischievously then took out of his pocket a Polaroid photograph with Rodney on it in his current state.

-sga-

Rodney stumbled over the threshold to his quarters. After today's events he was exhausted, annoyed and frustrated. He threw off his jacket which landed in a heap near another pile of soiled clothes, then trudged further into his quarters and slumped on the bed. He took his laptop, opened the application and scrolled down searching for the latest e-mail from Sheppard. As Rodney found it, he clicked 'Reply' and then stared at the blank page in front of him.

/

During first few hours in the Pegasus galaxy after the Replicators 'incident', Rodney thought that Atlantis expedition won't last a day without Sheppard. Granted, Sheppard found trouble on every planet he stepped foot on. He also had a tendency to drag other innocent people into dangerous situations along with him. The same people, who later had to come up with a rescue plan. But nevertheless Sheppard would do everything in his power to save those people even if it meant sacrificing himself.

But the first day ended and everyone was alive, Atlantis did not fall apart. And as week had ended also nothing major has happened. Well, of course everyday in Atlantis was a crisis but there was nothing that Rodney could not deal with. The whole week everybody was busy with unpacking, cleaning up after Replicators and checking out the damage that the city had received. And although nobody actually talked about Sheppard's absence, Rodney could see that it in some way had affected almost everyone.

Elizabeth started to stay in her office till 2 a.m. Once she stayed there working on some translations for forty-eight hours straight. Driving herself to exhaustion was her way of dealing with this particular situation. That way after hours and hours of work she did not have any strength left to feel guilty about John's reassignment. After this incident, Carson threatened to take her off duty if she kept this up.

Every day Ronon went for a jog, met with the team for meals, won in hand-to-hand fighting with Marines. The only indication of Ronon's frustration was the number of training accident after which military personal had to be treated for by Carson and his staff.

Teyla missed John greatly, although she did not resort to bodily harm anyone. She just meditated more and tried to keep her team from falling apart.

When Rodney asked Carson how he managed to stay so optimistic and so … cheerful, Beckett said that he was thinking not about John being away but that each day they were closer to getting Sheppard back.

Scientists, with the exception of Rodney and Radek, had not really noticed that Sheppard was not on Atlantis anymore. They remembered about that only when they needed Sheppard in their labs to turn some ancient devices on.

The most extraordinary was behaving Caldwell. He had changed operation's protocols but not much. He had not said anything mean or disrespectful about Sheppard. He was just being … nice which was very alarming.

Military personal was not thrilled with their new CO. They even prepared some pranks, with Rodney's help of course, but there just was not a right time or even a cause to carry them out … yet.

Rodney had been hit by IOA's decision the hardest. Sheppard was on Earth, most likely in combat zone, judging from his e-mails content which Rodney was able to decipher, doing something dangerous and stupid. And everything in Atlantis reminded Rodney of his friend's absence: Caldwell sitting on the meeting instead of Sheppard, missions with Lorne as their leader, empty seat at the table in the mess hall where Sheppard used to slouch, the race cars which now lay abandoned in Rodney's quarters; there was no bantering; no one smirked at Rodney the way Sheppard used to. Even movie nights were not the same. Rodney suggested conducting them in former Sheppard's quarters. Although Sheppard's stuff was still on Earth and the room was mostly empty, being in his quarters somehow made the team feel closer to him.

/

Rodney finished typing about missions and current situation on Atlantis, keeping in mind General Landry's warning about security clearance. Anyone who did not belong to stargate program would have found such e-mails ridiculous (who in their right mind would put 'vampires', 'Xena' and 'yo-yo' in one sentence?). Then he typed in his next move — bishop to E6 — this was their second chess game and so far Rodney was winning. With a sigh, he clicked 'Send'.


End file.
